3 Tacoma police officers acquitted in death of black man

A jury on Thursday found three Tacoma police officers not guilty of all criminal charges in the death of Manuel “Manny” Ellis, a Black man who died in police custody in 2020 after pleading guilty to being unable to breathe.

One officer, Timothy Rankine, was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter. The other two officers, Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, were acquitted of second-degree murder charges. All three had pleaded not guilty and faced life in prison. Officers Burbank, 35, and Collins, 38, are white. Office Rankine, 32, is Asian.

Prosecutors accused the three police officers of using deadly force against 33-year-old Mr. Ellis while arresting him on March 3, 2020, hitting him, squeezing his neck, pressing his back and placing a hood over his head . Prosecutors said audio footage captured Ellis saying he couldn’t breathe.

His death occurred just three months before George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. Mr Floyd, who is also black, had also pleaded: “I can’t breathe” as a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Bob Ferguson, Washington’s attorney general, said in a rack on X: “I know the Ellis family is hurting, and my heart goes out to them.”

Relatives said Mr. Ellis was the father of an 11-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter. A musician at his church, he had played drums with the worship band earlier the night he was killed, the attorney general’s office said.

Later, Mr. Ellis was walking home after grabbing a late-night snack at a 7-Eleven when he encountered Officers Burbank and Collins in their police car, prosecutors said. Mr. Ellis stopped and spoke briefly with the officers during an encounter that witnesses described as peaceful and respectful, prosecutors said. Mr. Ellis then began walking away, prosecutors said.

According to witnesses, Officer Burbank swung open the passenger door, hitting Mr. Ellis from behind and causing him to fall to his knees.

Officer Burbank then sat on top of Mr. Ellis, prosecutors said. Bystander videos, a doorbell camera with audio and video and radio traffic captured what happened next, prosecutors said.

Officer Burbank put his arms around Mr. Ellis, lifted him into the air and drove him onto the sidewalk, hitting him with one of his fists, prosecutors said. Officer Collins then walked up to Mr. Ellis and brought his weight down on him, prosecutors said.

The Burbank office fired a Taser at Mr. Ellis, prosecutors said, and he and Officer Collins held Mr. Ellis’ arms behind his back and pressed on his body as Mr. Ellis began screaming and writhing. On a nearby doorbell camera, Mr. Ellis can be heard saying, “I can’t breathe, sir.” I can not breathe!”

Office Rankine, who was part of a group of officers who responded as backup, sat on top of Mr. Ellis, almost as if he were in a “sitting position,” prosecutors said, as Mr. Ellis repeated, “I can’t breathe .’

Prosecutors said Officer Rankine later said he heard Mr. Ellis say “in a very calm, normal voice” that he couldn’t breathe, to which he responded, “If you’re talking to me, you can breathe just fine.”

An officer placed a spit hood on Mr. Ellis’ head while he was restrained on his stomach and Officer Rankine lay on his back, prosecutors said. He remained in that position for six to nine minutes until firefighters arrived and was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said several officers at the scene recalled hearing officers Burbank and Collins say they saw Mr. Ellis try to get into a car and then hit their police cruiser. However, that story was contradicted by three witnesses, none of whom saw Mr. Ellis hit the police car or the officers at any time, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the audio and video evidence from multiple sources showed Officer Collins punching Mr. Ellis’ head, wrapping his arm around the front of Mr. Ellis’ neck and clasping his hands while squeezing, causing a “lateral vascular neck support”.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide, caused by oxygen deprivation due to physical restraint, with methamphetamine intoxication and heart disease.